User:C18ver/2022 Merlin Regionals

The 2022 Buangkok Merlin Regionals is the 4th season of Singapore's premier amateur club futsal tournament organised by the SGYF, and the 1st season since it was renamed from King of Triple Threat to the Merlin Regionals.

All 10 games were held across 2 days at Buangkok Sports Park with the group stage being played on 12 November 2022 and the knockout stages held on 19 November 2022.

Teck Whye Hounds are the defending champions, having won their second title in the previous edition under the name Teck Whye Squad.

Teams
The 2022 edition saw a decrease in the number of teams from nine in 2021 to four in 2022. Several teams in Singapore were reached out by the Singapore Youtube Football Federation to participate. A play-off was to be held in the event that more than four teams showed interest in playing. The decrease in numbers was due to the experimental nature of the 2022 edition to test the waters for future editions.

Two time winner Teck Whye Hounds made their fourth successive appearance under the name Teck Whye Squad. One time winner Elite Predators also made their fourth successive appearance. Futzzal Boys made their second appearance while newbies Sengkang Wolves made their competitive debut.

Format
All four teams played in a single round-robin format on 12 November 2022. This was to determine the seeding for the knockout stages. The group stage matches were played in two halves of ten with a five minute break in between. The knockout stages were played on 19 November 2022 with two halves of fifteen minutes with a five minute break in between. In the event of a tie, five minutes of extra time was to be played. If it remained a draw, a penalty shootout would then occur.

Group stage
Each team played each other once to determine the draw for the knockout stages. No teams faced elimination in this process.

Player of the tournament

 * Aiman Aqil (Elite Predators)

Controversy
In the semi-finals between Elite Predators and Futzzal Boys, Aiman Aqil was adjourned to have committed the sliding tackle offence by the organisers. In accordance to the competition's rules, slide tackling is not permitted by any outfield players in any scenario. However, replays showed that Aiman made a normal lunge tackle but lost balance and fell, giving the impression of a slide tackle. The referee played the game on but the organiser intervened, demanding a free kick to be given leading to an argument between him and Elite Predators' goalkeeper Clovis Yio. Yio had to be pulled aside by teammates to avoid a booking.

Yio's behaviour towards the referee's decision led to him being stripped off the tournament's Best Goalkeeper award. He said on an Instagram post that has since been deleted:"I understand if any decisions go against us (Elite Predators) but if you hire a neutral official, you must let him do his job and not intervene. Especially when you're here as a player and not an official. That was never a sliding tackle and I stand by it."